Cuvée "Ailleurs" Brut Nature 2018

An uncompromisingly dry Champagne made from pure Chardonnay: bottled without dosage, 0 grams of residual sugar, and thus nothing but fruit, acidity and chalk. Handcrafted for drinkers who value origin over polish.

Les Riceys is the only village in Champagne permitted to produce three appellations: Champagne, still wine and Rosé des Riceys. The Horiot family has cultivated vines there since the 17th century. Olivier Horiot took over the estate from his father Serge in 1999 and immediately converted to organic farming; since 2010 he has worked biodynamically. The soils are ploughed with horses, and synthetic additives are taboo. The Kimmeridgian chalk beneath Les Riceys gives the wine its pronounced minerality.

Single-varietal Chardonnay from the 2018 vintage. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately, fermentation proceeds spontaneously with wild yeasts in used barriques; the cellar is run by Marie Horiot. It is neither fined nor filtered, and sulphur use remains minimal. Bottled as Brut Nature, meaning without dosage, at 12.0% ABV.

Radiant lemon yellow, fine and persistent strands of bubbles. On the nose, green apple, citrus fruit, wet chalk and a subtle yeasty note. Bone dry and taut, carried by focused acidity and saline minerality, chalky through to the finish.

With oysters, scallops, steamed turbot and pike-perch fillet on braised fennel.

Olivier Horiot vinifies all seven grape varieties permitted in Champagne, including the near-extinct Arbane. He bottles all his Champagnes without dosage. He is a member of the winegrowers' association Terres et Vins.